You should love Denver's Rain

[vegaspilgrim]

I hope we're all grown up enough to know that Mike Nelson, Kathy Sabine, etc, are really entertainers, and there's a difference between weather and climate. My point, with posting the pictures, is that when it comes to climate, less can be more.

Xeric, I totally agree with you about xeriscaping. It is far too rare along the Front Range. The only place where I've seen it embraced on a mass scale is Pueblo West (which has a slightly warmer climate than Denver, able to support plants like yucca palms, cholla, etc). IMO, the reason for this is Denver, culturally, is not really a solid western/southwestern city, but really more of a hybrid midwestern/central and western city, with one foot in each region. People here want the landscaping, Kentucky Bluegrass, etc, to resemble back east and are conditioned to think that cactus, shrubs, buffalo grass, yucca, etc, are "ugly," which is unfortuante. Even though you are 100% correct that climatically, Denver should have more in common with the intermountain west than the humid east.

[Scott5280]

"I agree Vegas, Denver proper and Eastern suburbs can look pretty bleak."That is why I think the short drive West behind the front range hog backs are such a gem. The landscape while still arid is much more diverse and intersting with the variation of century old Cotton woods,yucca,scrub oak, wild plum,Indian squash, and paint brush,mt.iris and often red clay formations. The varied symmetry along with the slightly more lush groundscape in and along the Northern rims help break it up a bit..examples Deer Creek,Ken Caryl,Roxborough Park,Rampart,White Ranch between Golden and Boulder and quite a few others. Those areas because of soil color and outcroppings make it far more aesthetically intersting IMO even in winter as opposed to the flat plains of Cherry Creek State Park ect..This year has been just amazing in the foothills, I have personally seen flowers that I have never seen or identified because of the rain..Some types of flora obviously remain dormant or have very short windows in their flowering without the needed moisture in dry years, often they can go without a prosperous growth year for decades. This year is many of those flowering species exception.

[cpm725]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

I hope we're all grown up enough to know that Mike Nelson, Kathy Sabine, etc, are really entertainers, and there's a difference between weather and climate. My point, with posting the pictures, is that when it comes to climate, less can be more.

Xeric, I totally agree with you about xeriscaping. It is far too rare along the Front Range. The only place where I've seen it embraced on a mass scale is Pueblo West (which has a slightly warmer climate than Denver, able to support plants like yucca palms, cholla, etc). IMO, the reason for this is Denver, culturally, is not really a solid western/southwestern city, but really more of a hybrid midwestern/central and western city, with one foot in each region. People here want the landscaping, Kentucky Bluegrass, etc, to resemble back east and are conditioned to think that cactus, shrubs, buffalo grass, yucca, etc, are "ugly," which is unfortuante. Even though you are 100% correct that climatically, Denver should have more in common with the intermountain west than the humid east.

I agree. My lawn is xeriscaped no "zero-scaped". I save more money on water. People who want Kentucky blue-grass should either move to where it naturally grows or endure the high cost of watering it.

[cpm725]

What really works well in the Denver area are agaves.

You can find them at Home: High Country Gardens, Drought Tolerant Plants, Xeriscape Perennials. All of the plants listed do well with the cold, heat, wind etc that we commonly experience every year. Not to mention, all of the plants require little water